I WAS watching the Tipperary homecoming on RTE news on Monday night (congratulations to them) when I saw a Tipperary fan being interviewed. The following is the jist.
“This has been a long time coming for Tipperary hurling. [Holding his infant son] This is his first All Ireland win – it’s great. Six years is a long time.”
Now, I have nothing against that man or Tipperary, but six years? Six years is nothing. To a Limerick fan.
As every year passes, the wait for Liam McCarthy gets longer. Some players now have more All Ireland medals than Limerick do as a county on its own. This, once more, made me think of the pressure being applied to the incoming Limerick hurling manager. Whoever he is.
The county expects, yet it has no right to. For Limerick to win an All Ireland, the new manager has to be left do what they want, with whomever they want, whenever they want. What is the worst than happen?
That is the leap of faith that the county board, press and fans need to take together. The talent is there, as shown by the minors and the Under 21s of recent times.
The biggest pressure should now be on the County Board to assemble the correct team to build that panel. Regardless of who it is, the right person will be worth it in the end. Be that arguments, selection issues or expenses needed, just looking at Thurles last Monday night, I believe everyone in Limerick agrees, 44 years is a long enough wait.
